Chelate compounds, i.e., chelating agents, chelate complexes, chelants, chelators, and/or sequestering agents, have numerous commercial applications, such as, for example, plant nutrition as fertilizers, and animal nutrition and treatment as supplements and medicines, respectively. Known chelating agents include ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (hereinafter “EDTA”) and ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (hereinafter “EDDHA”), and known chelate complexes include iron-EDTA (hereinafter “Fe-EDTA”) and iron-EDDHA (hereinafter “Fe-EDDHA”).
Organic chelating agents and mineral-organic chelate complexes are generally known as collectors and transporters of metal ions, respectively. In alkaline, i.e., pH greater than or equal to 7, environments in plants and in both highly acidic, i.e., pH less than or equal to 4, environments and alkaline environments in animals, metal ions either have a very low absorbability or are non-absorbable due to the molecular structure of known chelate compounds. In particular, due to the type of bonds present in the known chelate compounds, the compounds lack the ability to capture or deliver the desired elements in alkaline environments and, as a consequence, they release the elements in the environment without having them affect the desired targets.
This low or non-absorbability of metal ions causes unwanted and irreversible side effects in plants and animals, such as, for example, the production of free radicals. As such, a need exists for novel chelate compounds that are capable of collecting and delivering various elements and/or metal ions to and from plants and animals in any environment.